MED858 Session 4

Learning points and Reflection 4
Assessing the Classroom Learning Environments 2 – Case Studies
Learning points
Summary of influential figures and their landmark contributions in the field of LE (group learning through WIKI):
Kurt Lewin: personal behaviour is a result of the interaction between the individual and his/her environment; Behaviour = f(Person, Environment), applications of the field theory include group dynamics, experiential learning and action research
Rudolf Moos: 3 dimensions of MOOs's Scheme (relationship, personal development, and system maintenance and change), Classroom Environment Scale (CES) - used to measure the human environment in a variety of places such as hospitals, prisons and classrooms
Theo Wubbels: Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), focuses on the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships between teachers and students, drawn from a theoretical model of proximity (cooperation-opposition) and influence (dominance-submission), developed to assess student's perceptions of eight behavioural aspects
Herbert Walberg: participant perceptions of various learning settings, Learning Environment Inventory (LEI) (from Harvard Project Physics), teacher-centred (Visit our WIKI project at wetpaint for more information)

Others: Henry Murray (Need-Press Theory), Barry Fraser, Darrell Fisher
Influential figures in the field of educational psychology: Piaget, Skinner, Vygotsky and Pavlov
Action research: John Elliot

Reflection
The discussion on modifying CLES was very useful. It is important to think of our own classrooms and ask ourselves two questions: Why modify and How to modify. Through the discussion, many practical issues were raised and the importance of the two questions was better understood.

To me it all boils down to what we truly want from the administration of the instrument. The same set of the instrument may not serve all types of classes well. For example, in my opinion, many questions in CLES may not solicit ‘favourable’ responses from Secondary 4 and 5 classes. To me, it is not because of their classroom learning environments are more ‘inferior’ than those of Secondary 1 to 3. It is more on the learning environments that are driven significantly by the assessment mode (“N” and “O” Level Examinations) for Secondary 4 and 5 classes. Consequently, certain activities under ‘Uncertainty’ scale in CLES may not be carried out in Secondary 4 and 5 classes. As in Physics Uncertainty Principle where we can not measure the dual properties of a particle at the same time, we can not apply the same instrument to different classroom settings.

In the afternoon we attened APERA conference where a group of teachers from Marsiling Secondary shared on the use of Knowledge Forum (KF) in the teaching of D&T. Interesting to find that discussion –based forum is also possible for D&T.

The case study on the three different schools provided a big picture on learning environments. Through group sharing and various activities such as scoring the school on the scales based on SLEQ (Likert scale of 1 to 5) and a skit simulating two contrasting views of two parents on the school (learning environments), I came to realize that a classroom learning environment involves and affects not only students and teachers, but also principal, parents and community.

View our skit on parents' views on School A in the case study:


My (modest) action plan after the course:
1. To decide one instrument to assess my classroom learning environment Hopefully by going through the instrument, I become more aware of Moos's three dimensions of LE and consequently be more competent in facilitating LE
I will probably use CLES as I am more familiar with it after class discussion. It is also quite relevant to my aim to know my students better.
1b. To modify CLES to suit my classroom learning environment
2. To design follow-up actions for improvement based on the result of the assessment

MED858 Session 3

Learning points and Reflection 3
Assessing the Classroom Learning Environments 1 – Instruments and Approaches

Learning points
- A shift from generic instruments to subject-specific instruments
- Focus is to refine and improve the instruments rather than creating new ones
- After assessing LE, we need to plan follow-up actions for improvement
- Four questions about LE: 1. What is LE? 2. Why work on LE? 3. How to assess LE? 4. How to improve LE?
- Important components in LE are physical as well as students and psycho-social aspect of students
- Assessing LE - A shift in the trend from quantitative to a combination of quantitative and qualitative approach
- For the instruments, we need to be mindful about the target audience (maturity). For the design, we need to consider the number of scales and the number of items.

- WIHIC (latest instrument)
There is always instruction given to students
Can be modified for eg. changed to 'science class'
4-point Likert scale
Student cohesiveness (a few statements inder this dimension), Teacher support,
Student Actual Form - mid year, based on actual experience
A teacher converts the questions to statements in the survey
Teacher identify and address gaps
Among the instruments, WIHIC is the easiest to conduct (primary and secondary school students). QTI is rather difficult. Students have difficulty understading certain difficult word such as 'The teacher is enthusiastic.'


Reflection
In assessing LE, we look at the 3 dimensions of Moos's Scheme: relationship, personal development and system maintenance and change. Moos's Scheme provides a more holistic perspective to me in looking at a classroom learning environment. It helps me to device strategies based on the three dimensions.

Normally the LE is rather outcome driven. We need to balance it with the process (process oriented). We need to be mindful of the processes that are put in place in a classroom learning environment.

Student Preferred Form which is normally administered at the beginning of the year is useful for SEM (school self appraisal) to collect data for needs analysis.

Our group will be using WIKI to research on Herbert Walberg. WIKI is basically a social website that anyone can easily edit and contribute to. Utilizing the best features of blogs, forums and social networks, WIKI allows us to create, collect, and organize content on our own social websites.

I feel that through WIKI, we can develop various life skills such as ICT, collaboration, communication, team work and independent learning of students. Students will learn to work as a team towards their common goal. Features such as record of activities and top contributor may stimulate students to strecth their limit to do the best.

Dr Quek bought us drinks and fried fish during lunch. The fish is fantastic. Thank you Dr Quek again. It has been a pleasant learning experience so far with Dr Quek and my suppportive coursemates. I feel this is particularly wonderful amid the tight schedule.

My (modest) action plan after the course:
1. To decide one instrument to assess my classroom learning environment
Hopefully by going through the instrument, I become more aware of Moos's three dimensions of LE and consequently be more competent in facilitating LE
2. To design follow-up actions for improvement based on the result of the assessment

MED858 Session 2

Learning points and Reflection 2
Classroom Learning Environment


Learning points
- School learning environment = school climate
- There are four broadly categorised learning environments - learner-centred, knowledge-centred, assessment-centred and community-centred.
- Approaches to learning environment research:
- First we look at the big picture of learning environment and try to appreciate the usefulness in studying classroom environment. Then we look at how to assess the learning environment using a validated instrument. Finally we design follow-up actions for improvement.

Learning Environments Research
The learning environments research in Western countries emphasizes on the use of a variety of validated and robust questionnaires that assess students' perceptions of their classroom learning environment. Asian researchers have, on the other hand, cross validated the main contemporary classroom environment questionnaires.

Classroom Environment Instruments
Key features of historically important and contemporary instruments
Learning Environment Inventory (LEI): research related to Harvard Project Physics; designed to measure the social climate of a class perceived by the pupils within it
Classroom Environment Scale (CES): perceptual measures of a variety of human environments including psychiatric hospitals, prisons, university residences and work milieus
Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ): assesses those dimensions which distinguish individualised classrooms from conventional ones
My Class Inventory (MCI): simplified LEI for use among children aged 8--12 years
Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI): focuses on the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships between teachers and students
Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI): developed specifically to address the critical importance and uniqueness of laboratory settings in science education
Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES): assesses the degree to which a particular classroom's environment is consistent with a constructivist epistemology
What Is Happening In This Class (WIHIC) Questionnaire: combines modified versions of the most salient scales from a wide range of existing questionnaires with additional scales that accommodate contemporary educational concerns (e.g., equity and constructivism).

Most instruments incorporate the three dimensions of Moos's Scheme namely Relationship, Personal development, System maintenance and change. The various instruments developed are useful for assessing students' perceptions of classroom environment.

Reflection
We should try to strike a balance between the learner-centred and knowledge-centred environments. An environment that is solely learner-centred or too learner-centred may not help students acquire the learning that leads to understanding and transfer. On the other hand, an environment that stresses too much knowledge may impede the holistic development of students in learning as well as the integration of discipline.

A brief understanding on some historically-important questionnaires is useful. I am glad that I have the opportunity to be exposed to the various classroom environment instruments. Our students learn very differently now. We can’t presume they learn the way as we did in the past. Assessing our classroom learning environment especially in psychosocial aspect is of great help to us.

I also learned about http://www.copernic.com/ (personal files and digital media) and http://www.imeem.com/ (music) from my fellow coursemates.

I would like to express my appreciation to Dr Quek for enabling me to learn so much and for her generous hospitality at lunch time. I would like to thank also my coursemates who have been very wonderful and help make my learning an enjoyable one.

My (modest) action plan after the course:
1. To decide one instrument to assess my classroom learning
2. To design follow-up actions for improvement based on the result of the assessment

MED858 Session 1

Online Session & Reading

Read Chapter 6 'The Design of Learning Environment' of 'How People Learn' . For assessment-centered environments, formative assessment is crucial for timely feedback as well as intervention. This can be in the form of a simple test such as multiple choice questions so long as it assesses understanding of students' learning.

We could also try out verbal Q&A at the beginning of a lesson. Unlike the written test which is the summative assessment where we need time to mark, verbal Q&A allows us to solicit feedback immediately and consequently adjust our lesson accordingly.

As for the article 5_1 Science Learning Environments Assessment, Effects and Determinants, I read with great interest about one of the practical implications highlighted by the author: “Learning environment assessments should be used in addition to student learning outcome measures to provide information about subtle but important aspects of classroom life”. In the past I have been focusing too much on assessing the learning outcomes of my students. Now I am forced to challenge my mental models. The fact that students have a large stake in what happens to them at school means that their reactions to and perceptions of their school experiences are significant. The author has pointed out further: “Students are at a good vantage point to make judgements about classrooms because they have encountered many different learning environments and have enough time in a class to form accurate impressions.” In view of this, I am now more receptive to the idea that assessing the social and psychological aspects of learning environments of classrooms and schools is crucial.

Dr Quek's Podcast 'Understanding Learning Environment: Key Concept'
The key concepts of perception, school climate, school culture, classroom and school learning environments were discussed. Human behaviour reflects attitude, sense of acceptance and the ability to build positive relationships. The big picture is shown in the model 'Inter-relationships between Lewinan's formula and Murray's needs-press model'. Various components include the person, personal needs, human behaviour, learning environment are interconnected. Kurt Lewin's field theory states that a person's behaviour is influenced by the person and the environment. Behaviour = f(Person, Environment).

MED858 Pre Session

I created this blog today (17 Nov 2008). At last I joined many others to blogging world.

In this pre session, Dr Quek mentioned about the need for us to switch our role between a practitioner and a researcher. Her words struck a deep cord with me. The goals of education today are different from those of earlier times. The expectations of school experience have also altered dramatically. These changes cause us as educators to re-examine the existing education system to meet the new demands and challenges.

Today we are confronted with more diverse student populations than ever before. Students come with different backgrounds, capabilities and expectations. The call to reach out to every child has inadvertently made the job of educators more arduous and challenging.

Being a researcher we heighten our awareness of various teaching pedagogies. We also develop a more critical mindset. This is in line with the current expectations of a teacher. We need to constantly upgrade ourselves for continual growth to face the new demands and challenges.

Many IT terms were introduced this evening: Lessonbox, Gmail, blog, podcast, vodcast, WIKI, Wetpaint, Facebook... It is going to be exciting...